The Downfall
by PotterPerson
Summary: After Harry's tenure at Hogwarts, Voldemort is taking over the world. But what about it when the leaders of both forces are stopped and secondary fighters must duke it out for control of the world.


The Downfall  
  
JKR owns all, except characters I have invented.  
  
This is a suspense fic, not going to be very long. My 1st suspense HP fic....well, who writes them anyways... a tad of angst at the start...anyways, read, review, and enjoy.  
  
Prologue  
  
Harry Potter, twenty going on seventy-two, slumped over his office chair. His official title was Harry James Potter, Ministry Auror in Training, Order of the Phoenix, Unified Light Force, but he really preferred Harry. It was amazing, this burden he had to carry, the expectations of everybody, it was the whole world on his shoulders! He only wished he could have been himself for a while, take a vacation, not have his Order of the Phoenix's Priori Incantatem Messenger flashing every fifteen minutes. (A/N: It's like a mix between a muggle cell phone and a Dark Mark, by people apparating to the person in need.) But, too bad, he had to go fight all the battles, stop evil, and save the world.  
  
Wouldn't it just have been better if the message never got there? He was elated that yes, he had a life, where there were endless possibilities, where he would be accepted, for once in his life. Acceptance was a wonderful thing, when he was a loner, in Surrey. But yhat was a long time ago. He didn't enjoy the little things in life then, like the sharp, clean scent of the morning air, or the aroma of freshly baked doughnuts. He felt almost - it pained him to say this - but almost suicidal.  
  
He was an insecure scholar. He seemed confident, but all of that time he was plauged by fears of Lord Voldemort. Visions of the various wrong endings of the Sorcerors Stone and the Chamber of Secrets affairs flashed vividly in his fitful periods of sleep. He would wake up sweating, with his scar in a deep crimson red. He felt very skeptical at his own powers, if he eventually had to take over Voldemort. (which, ironically, he is helping to do right now.) When Dumbledore had to leave in the middle of Harry's year 5, he had no one to confide in. So he told Ron everything, and as a result of Ron's new understanding of Harry's problems, Harry became closer to him than any of Ron's six other brothers. But Harry still felt worried (which he did his best not to show) until year 6 came. Then everything changed for the better.  
  
Cho Chang was greatly troubled by Cedric's death. At first, she blamed many people for the loss. Harry for sharing the cup, Crouch and Pettigrew for turning evil, the Triwizard security system for not preventing the Portkey...heck, she even blamed Cedric himself not letting Harry take the cup. She becamed very depressed and her grades suffered. She snobbed Harry when any oppurtunity at conversation happened, even though she would have liked him had he not been involved in Cedric's murder. Her teachers noticed that the usually bright and enegretic young woman was now doing so poorly, and they took her to McGonagall, the new headmistress, for a session, where she opened her soul about Cedric and the guilt involved. McGonagall sympathized easily, and told her the real story of what happened at Riddle's graveyard in her year 5.  
  
She immediately went to Harry and apologized. They soon became friends, then more than friends. At first, they were not very serious, but as the Graduation Ball approached in Cho's year 7, they became lovers. Of course, they went to the Graduation Ball together. Harry and Cho had the time of their lives. The last song slowly approached, and she became emotional as the slow song slowly came to an end.  
  
* * *  
  
(flashback)  
  
*Harry looked at Cho with concern, as she had tears filled in her eyes.  
  
"Why are you crying? Is it me, or.."  
  
"No, of course not, Harry," said Cho as she gave Harry her sweetest smile. Its just that...I can't stand missing you for a year. It will be ten times as bad as Cedric in my fifth year, at least, and I..." She had prepared for this for a while. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She waited for Harry's reaction.  
  
"Of course, Cho. Once I get out, I will stay by your side forever. Remember, I love you with all my heart and soul." Harry smiled back, and they soon met into a long kiss. They stayed that way for what seemed an eternity, until they were rudely interrupted by someone tapping on Cho's back. It was smaller than Cho, so Harry couldn't see over her shoulder.  
  
Harry suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, but before he could say anything, a wand stabbed Cho in the back, along with the words, "Crucio. Tisuenos." Cho dropped to the floor, writhing and screaming in pain. Harry looked for the perpatrator, and saw a glimpse of Peter Pettigrew before he disappeared beneath an Invisibility Cloak. Professor Sirius Black, (whose name had been cleared 2 years ago) the Transfiguration teacher, chased after Pettigrew, and followed his footsteps. Harry looked at Cho, who was still writhing and screaming in pain, even though it was 3 minutes later. Abruptly, it stopped, and she seemed to be comatose.  
  
Harry started to cry, with the Great Hall now all watching. "Hospital Wing! Move out of the way! Wingardium Leviosa," as she pointed at Cho's body and rushed up the stairs to the ward. Harry knew of nothing else but to get his lover to safety. He had to save his soulmate. With all of the emotions of sadness, urgency, and mostly anger filling his body, he raced faster than he has ever gone except on a broomstick. He finally reached the hospital. He explained a quick version of the events, then told her to take care of her. After Madam Pomfrey left to get equipment,Harry looked at her lifeless body for the last time. His eyed became glazed, and he said, "I love you, Cho, I..." He couldn't continue. He kissed her for the last time. He made a slow exit, taking a long, lasting look at her from the door. He closed the door, and sat down, and buried his face in his hands.  
  
Harry Potter cried for the first time in his life.  
  
* * *  
  
Sirius, who was faster than the chubby Pettigrew, raced an invisible thing around the castle. When Pettigrew approached the stairs, he reached out and grasped for where he thought Pettigrew was - and grabbed the Invisibility Cloak. Pettigrew looked back, scared, and continued to race up the stairs and out of the reach of Sirius. Sirius, who stumbled, raced up after him, screaming, "TRAITOR!! TRAITOR!! TRAITOR!!" They had just reached the top of the Astronomy Tower when Sirius was prepared to attack. "Avada Kev-," he started, but it was too late. Pettigrew had jumped. He plummeted to his death. Sirius took a look at the Cloak in his hand. It said on a white tag, 'Harry Potter'.  
  
At that moment, he desperately wished that same Harry Potter hadn't stopped that same Wormtail's death 3 years earlier.  
  
* * *  
  
At three o' clock in the morning, Madam Pomfrey returned to Harry, McGonagall, Ron, Hermione, Flitwick (Cho's Head of House) and Sirius with a report on Cho.  
  
"We have identified her condition. She was hit by an immensly powerful Crucaitus Curse, possible because Voldemort was possesing Peter Pettigrew's, the attacker, body. The second curse uttered, the Sleeping Spell, usually puts someone to sleep for a couple of hours. It is, of course, highly illegal, and met with 20 years in Azkaban for using it, life if used for avantage in a battle, and the Kiss if used with an unforgivable curse. With routine precaution, it is blockable. However, in this situation, Cho Chang was unprepared. Since the spell was more powerful, it would knock her out for a week at best. Unfortunately, used with another attacking curse, the effects are almost irreparable. Harry..." She was choked up, and couldn't finish saying the last words of the report.  
  
"She won't wake up." Harry finished, defeated.  
  
Madam Pomfrey nodded and burst into tears. Flitwick and McGonagall has the same reaction. Sirius, Ron and Hermione looked aghast, and turned to Harry for his reaction. He just sat there, too numb to think. He hated Voldemort, and this made Harry hate him even more, if that was possible. He ripped apart all those lives...and he had struck him. Just a gentle little warning that to Harry that you're not safe. Well, he vowed it would happen no more. He knew that he had to kill Voldemort.  
  
(end flashback)  
  
Harry suddenly felt motivated. He knew what Cho would say: Believe in yourself, and never give up. The good side will prevail. He had to keep his eye on the prize. He got back to his report of the most recent Death Eater sighting. He concentrated on that, fueled by the memory of Cho, when his Order of the Phoenix's Priori Incantatem Messenger flashed. A holographic image of Hermione Granger appeared.  
  
"Hey! Hermione! How're you doing?" Harry said, flashing him a toothy smile.  
  
"Not the time for chatting now, this is serious business! There's been an attack in Dublin."  
  
Harry sighed. "You know I'm restricted to England attacks only, Hermoine."  
  
"No, but this is different. You need to help. There's been an attack at the Weasley-Longbottom residence."  
  
A/N: Okay, a kinda cliffie....hope you enjoyed. This is my first real story, the rest have been 'non/stories', according to ff.net...anyways, I gotta tell you this. The OoTP is coming out 6/21/2003 in the UK, U.S. and most other countries. The first sentences begin, 'The hottest day of the summerso far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silencelay over the large square houses of Privet Drive...The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside No. 4.' Abuse, mistreatment maybe? I thought the Dursleys stopped that a while ago. And, also, Dumbledore tells Harry (later in the book), 'It is time...for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.'. Ooooh...a mystery.Involving his parents...Voldemort...his 'sister'...who knows? All I can say is I can't wait until 5 months 5 days from today. Bye all! PotterPerson  
  
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